2/7

He turned toward me, his grin growing. "I've been out of the world's spotlight for almost twenty years now. Two whole decades! And in my eyes that… is just not right. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to speak to the world! Anonymously, sadly, I'm not quite ready for the Marines to come after me yet and I don't want them to know where my base is, but…" Shiki let out a despondent sigh. "I just want to say something, after these many long years. Is there any way that could be possible?"

I blinked in surprise… and then my partner and I slowly adopted our trademark Marines-are-about-to-have-a-bad-day grins. "I think," I chuckled, patting a hand on the weapon of mass-anarchy hanging at my side. "That that can be arranged."

"THEN WE HAVE AN ACCORD!" Shiki bellowed in a most grandiose tone, sweeping a hand skyward. "LET US BE OFF!"

And with that, the Thousand Sunny creaked, and shuddered, and then with one almighty lurch the ship went still. Utterly, impossibly still, outside the services of a drydock. Immediately, everyone dashed to the side, myself included, and stared down at the blue sea. The blue sea that we were rapidly rising from, as Sunny flew in a manner that not even Merry had managed to achieve.

I stared down at the sea falling away below us in awe for a second longer before shooting a grin at my partner-in-shell.

"Soundbite, old buddy," I said with an eager grin. "I think that we're in for one of our most glorious adventures yet!"

-o-

"Don don don don! Don don don don!"

"Guuuugh…"

One of the four strongest pirates alive groaned piteously, sitting up despite the Sea King rampaging in his skull. "How the hell does that big-mouth brat always manage to time his show to when I'm most hungover?!"

"Because you're always hungover, Captain," Beckmann deadpanned.

Shanks blinked dumbly. "I am not!" he protested after a moment.

"Right, sorry. You're only usually hungover," Benn revised, still dry as dust.

"Damn straight, now someone pick that up!" Red-Haired Shanks ordered. "And get me some vodka!"

"You sure you wanna do that, cap'n?" Yasopp called. Behind him Roo took aim at their snail with a well-aimed Sea King bone. "Every time you drink while Cross is talking, you just spit it back up three seconds later!"

Shanks' ever so mature response was to transfer the weight of the bottle to his jaw so he could perform the ever-important task of flipping his sniper off and keep drinking. One of the first tricks he'd learned after becoming handicapped and he hadn't once regretted it.

When they dislodged the snail, the song coming across the connection was an upbeat tune with thumping percussion, blaring horns, and an odd sound similar to a guitar. Lyrics emerged after a few seconds.

"SONO CHI NO SADAME!…JOOOOOOO-JO!"

"…'The fate of that blood'? Is this some kind of epic ballad or something?" Yasopp wondered.

"Couldn't be," Rockstar shook his head. "No way that someone named 'Jojo' could be that impressive."

"And that was Sono Chi no Sadame, by… well, someone you'll all never meet anyways," came Cross's voice. "I'll talk more about that another time; for now…" The anarchist's expression slowly twisted into an absolutely vicious grin. "Welcome back to the SBS."

'Oh crap' was the reaction of most of the Red-Haired Pirates'. Their captain, meanwhile…

"PFFFT! GAH, DAMMIT!" Shanks roared indignantly, vodka dripping from his chin. "THAT'S IT! WHEN LUFFY HOPS THE LINE, I'M GOING TO BE THERE TO MEET HIM JUST SO THAT I CAN GIVE THAT BRAT A PIECE OF MY MIND! AND A PIECE OF MY FOOT UP HIS—!"

"HA!"

A sudden bark of laughter cut through Shanks' rage.

"YOU THOUGHT IT WAS CROSS WHO STARTED THE SBS!" the trademark bevy of voices cackled. "BUT IT WAS ME, DIO—er, SOUNDBITE!"

"YOU SLIMY LITTLE SON OF A… pffhehehe. Alright, fine, that was a good one," Cross admitted.

"…Oh yeah. Come hellfire or high tide, we're meeting them when they surface in the New World, and I am going to have words with the Voices of Anarchy," Shanks glowered, sitting back down and chugging the bottle.

"Does it technically count if it was in his voice?" Benn asked, frowning.

Shanks twitched at the thought before snapping his fingers at Rockstar. "The Wano Reserve we filched off of one of Kaido's boats. Now."

The rookie got up and began sorting through the bottles that littered the beach, grumbling all the while. When he walked by Roo, though, he stopped and shot the other pirate a curious look. "Hey, mind if I ask you something? Besides that first question, I mean."

"Spoilsport…" Roo grumbled into his fresh hunk of meat. "But yeah, go ahead."

"How come the captain's always like… well…" Rockstar nodded his head at Shanks. "I mean, he's one of the Four freaking Emperors! I'm not saying he should be another monster like the fatass or the beast, but—!"

"Why ain't he more respectable like the old man?" Roo finished, smirking. "Easy, really. Think about it: The Cap'n is one of the most powerful, most infamous pirates in the whole wide world. One of the four people in the world that the World Government absolutely, totally, completely can't control. One of the closest things they have to equals. And he acts like…"

Roo flailed his hands about, trying to find the words, prompting Rockstar to nod in understanding.

"Well, you know what he acts like. And you know what he told me, a few years back? 'Every second someone like me is the worst nightmare of the World Government, the Elder Bastards die a little bit more inside'."

"…holy hell, that's brilliant," Rockstar breathed in awe.

THWACK!

Then he winced when an empty vodka bottle thumped against his head. "I HEARD YOU AND I'M STILL WAITING FOR MY SAKE!"

"Also, the captain's still a natural stinking drunk!" Roo cackled.

THUNK!

"YEOW!" the fatso yelped as a rifle stock slammed over his skull.

"Shut up so we can listen to the rookie," Benn ordered.

"And he's a raging jackass…" Roo muttered.

THUNK!

"GAH, RIGHT ON THE OTHER LUMP!"

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, today is a rather special day on the SBS, as we happen to have a guest here!" Cross informed the word in his usual animated tone. "They're going anonymous for the time being, but they're doing a huge favor for us and all they asked for an interview on here, so let's get started!"

"Hello, people of the world. It's quite a pleasure to to speak to all of you, one that I've wanted for quite a long time now," came the dual voices that Soundbite used for anonymity. "I'm keeping most of myself to myself for now, but it should go without saying that I am a pirate. A captain of a fine crew that has every intention of shaking up the world."

"Well, that doesn't narrow it down very much, that could be any of those starry-eyed rookies," someone piped up.

"So, getting right into the interview, we've got our questions lined up. Primero: What makes you special enough to be able to shake up the world that much?" Cross inquired.

"Weeeell," the guest speaker drawled with a wide grin. A grin that made Shanks sit up and take notice. "I have spent several years mastering my Devil Fruit powers, which are by themselves enough that I hardly need to try against most opponents. Ah, but I am not complacent; I am a master swordsman as well, and my blades are of the highest quality. I am confident that between these two masteries, no adversary in my path will be a threat."

"Well, while I'm sure that your skills in both those areas is impressive, you'll forgive me if I have my doubts about the idea of one pirate crew taking on the Marine organization… well, one crew that's not ours, anyway!"

"Careful, Jeremiah Cross. Don't get too big of a head."

"Yeah, but think about how useless the Marines will feel the next time they take a swing at us and miss when we're showing that kind of attitude!" Cross shamelessly chortled. "Anyway, let's see, next question… what's your philosophy, what keeps you going through everything the sea spits out at you?"

"My philosophy?" the interviewee grunted, the snail's teeth gnashing in a way that indicated chewing on a cigar, as Boss had often shown. "Well… in difficult times, I have two sayings that I always come back to. First, you can't rush perfection; I'm as strong as I am because I took the time to refine my skills. And as much as I love massive payoffs, I've learned again and again that they take endless preparation to pull it off. Be it weeks, months, or even years, it can be hard to put in the necessary time and effort, to not leap for the payoff the first chance you get. But it's worth. It is always worth it."

"Admirable. Most folks don't have that kind of self-control. And the second?"

"Second is that you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. It may sound a bit mercenary, but if you want to reach for the top? You won't make it there without a great deal of agony. Whether the pain comes from simple adversity, a failed experiment in growing stronger, or plain old misfortune, patience is not the only price that you must pay for success. Sometimes things turn out ugly even when you get the result you wanted. Again, though, I find that it is always worth it."

"Definitely an admirable worldview, and one we're all familiar with. I'm impressed."

"Oh stop, you're making me blush!"

"Huh, sounds like Luffy and his crew have run into a pretty impressive pirate!" someone piped up.

"Yeah…" Shanks rubbed his chin, a troubled frown on his face. "But for some reason he's also pretty familiar…"

That sobered up the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates real quick.

"And on this crew…" another grunt slowly clarified. "That's… usually a bad sign, ain't it?"

"Yeah, but… c'mon, it can't always be that bad, right?" someone else asked.

"Mmph… maybe…" Shanks grunted noncommittally.

"Well, moving on to more material things, I must say your swords are most impressive!"

"Ha! Your crew just won't get off my back about them, eh? Don't you already have plenty of impressive blades already?"

"Yeah, but except for Funkfreed, they're all katana. I don't even know what yours are. HEY, ZORO, BLADE ID!"

"Skillful to Great Grade, now clam it and let me train!" the 'rookie' crew's first mate shouted back.

"Not what I—ugh, never mind…" Cross grunted with a roll of his eyes. "But anyway, yeah, a new pair of Greats is impressive. Especially seeing as I've never seen a matched set before."

"Yes, well—!"

"BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THIS ISN'T ONE OF THOSE TIMES!" Shanks barked, shooting to his feet and dashing over to the snail so he could hastily punch in the SBS's number. "Damn it damn it damn i—!"

"How bad, Shanks?!" Yasopp inquired nervously.

"'Raging bastard who gave Roger and Garp the fights of their lives' bad!" Shanks growled. "The only cigar-smoking asshole I remember to wield both an impressive Devil Fruit and a matched pair of Graded Swords—!"

"Shiki the Golden Lion?!" Benn roared incredulously. Then he ground a the heel of his palm into his forehead. "Luffy, how could you possibly be that unluck—?"

THWACK!

Roo cackled as he smashed the remains of his Sea King ribs over his superior's head. "HA! Payback, asshole! Ah, but no, I do realize that this is serious, so—!"

SMASH!

Roo fell silent as he, Yasopp, and Benn looked back up at Shanks, who had just crushed the bottle he was holding with widened eyes. His mouth moved wordlessly, those capable of reading lips seeing the words 'wanted to for a long time now' form before Shanks redoubled his attempts to type in his protégé's number… which really only impeded him, fingers stabbing into all the buttons but the right ones.

"—and so I've wielded these blades ever since, and they've never let me down."

"Huh. Quite the story, but I shouldn't be surprised considering how Zoro got his swords."

"GUESS IT'S JUST A thing for the BEST—Dot dot dot dot!—SWORDSMEN! Ooh, a call-in!"

"Thank goodness," Shanks breathed in relief.

"Heh, maybe someone looking for advice from a professional pirate?"

"And just what are you implying with that, hmm?" Cross scoffed in good humor before picking up. "Alright, caller, who here do you want to talk to?"

"SHIKI, YOU GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM RIGHT THE HELL NOW!" Shanks roared at the top of his lungs. "IF YOU TOUCH EVEN A HAIR ON LUFFY'S HEAD, I SWEAR I WILL—!"

"The world, Jeremiah Cross," came a voice that was decidedly not Shanks.

"GAAAH!" the Emperor raged, slamming the receiver down hard enough to almost knock out the poor snail. "ONE FREAKING SECOND TOO LATE!"

"I will get straight to the point: I am Vice Admiral Tsuru of Marine Headquarters, and I would like to borrow the services of your SBS to send forth a warning regarding a significant threat that the Navy has been made aware of within the past two days. Will you permit this?"

"NO!" the Red-Haired Pirates bellowed as one.

"Eh… I'll allow it," the snail uttered with a shrug. "Just keep it clean. I'm the only one allowed to spew propaganda around here."

Shanks threw his hand up in frustration, spinning around and stomping away. "THE ONE TIME WE WANT HIM TO BE AN IRREVERENT ASSHOLE!"

"Captain, we can call in once he's—" one of the grunts began.

"No, don't bother," Shanks sighed, pulling up another bottle. "I really shouldn't be directly interfering in Luffy's journey. Besides, it's not like the Straw Hats haven't taken on impossible odds before."

Toning out the broadcast of the snail, Shanks took a long drink, and then wiped off his mouth, before blinking at the nervous and slightly incredulous looks his crew was giving him.

"So… we wait?" Yasopp asked.

"We wait," Shanks nodded. "We'll see if the Golden Lion has bitten off more than he can chew by challenging them. And if he hasn't?"

Without warning, the better part of the crew nearly fainted as a blast of Haki billowed out from Shanks, his glare on the no-longer-conscious snail.

"Then he'll wish that he had."

-ONE MINUTE EARLIER-

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."

Said man and Garp both turned to face their old friend, the speaker, who had just entered the room with a sterner look on her face than usual, a snail in her hand. Sengoku took a moment to sigh in discontent at her impersonal address before responding. "Yes, Vice Admiral Tsuru?"

"Will you permit me to call in to the SBS?" The elderly Vice-Admiral pointed at the snail the other two Marines were listening to. "I would like to use Jeremiah Cross's range to spread the warning about Shiki. And to potentially warn them about the threat to their lives as well; the better prepared they are, the bigger the strip they might take out of Shiki's hide."

The Fleet Admiral's growing scowl faded into surprise. He went back to frowning a moment later, but nodded. "Do it. The brat's show can finally do something good."

Tsuru nodded, dialing the number carefully.

"—JUST A thing for the BEST—Dot dot dot dot!—SWORDSMEN! Ooh, a call-in!"

"Heh, maybe someone looking for advice from a professional pirate?"

"And just what are you implying with that, hmm?" Cross scoffed in good humor before picking up. "Alright, caller, who here do you want to talk to?"

"The world, Jeremiah Cross," Tsuru stated in a no-nonsense voice. "I will get straight to the point: I am Vice Admiral Tsuru of Marine Headquarters, and I would like to borrow the services of your SBS to send forth a warning regarding a significant threat that the Navy has been made aware of within the past two days. Will you permit this?"

"Eh… I'll allow it," Cross said nonchalantly. "Just keep it clean. I'm the only one allowed to spew propaganda around here. Mind giving me a second here?"

"Sure, sure, go right ahead."

"You were saying?"

"Thank you," Tsuru said neutrally. "People of the world, I am here to make two warnings of the utmost importance: first, to all peoples living in the East Blue, we advise you to exercise the most extreme amount of caution possible. Over the course of the past month, several islands have been razed in totality, all living creatures on said islands slaughtered with extreme prejudice. The most recent attacks have annihilated civilian settlements and left no survivors. Recent evidence also suggests that there is a hostile force directing these attacks, so all civilians are urged to report any suspicious activity they notice to their local Marines immediately and without fail. That is all."

"Geez…" Cross shook his head, a scowl on his face. "Well, that's just horrible in all kinds of ways. And the other thing?"

"The second warning, perhaps even more critical, concerns the whole world. One of the most infamous pirates in history has resumed activity: Shiki the Golden Lion. He is one of the most dangerous men alive, a ruthless warmonger, one of the greatest rivals of the late Gold Roger, and the only man to ever escape from Impel Down. He is empowered by the Float-Float Fruit, enabling him to levitate himself as well as anything he touches other than animals. And we have reason to believe that he… is…"

Tsuru trailed off, about to say 'responsible for the attacks in the East Blue', but she sighed and grimaced as she registered that the snail's expression had gradually become more and more horrified over the course of her words.

"…he's standing right next to you, Jeremiah Cross, isn't he?" she groaned, kneaded her brow.

"Guilty as charged, Wrinkles~" sang the no-longer blurred voice, which had just taken on a new undertone of malice.

"YOU! GUM-GUM—WAAAAAAA!" came Luffy's sudden bellow, followed by an equally sudden scream of surprise that was echoed by the rest of his crew.

"DAMMIT, LUFFY!" Garp roared. "HOW DID YOU LET YOURSELF GET TAKEN IN BY SHIKI?!"

Sengoku, for his part, just had his forehead slumped on his table. It almost sounded like he was sobbing in exasperation as the one good, if reluctant, hope he had of the situation resolving itself without issue evaporated.

-ONE MINUTE EARLIER-

"Eh, I'll allow it," Cross shrugged indifferently. "Just keep it clean. I'm the only one allowed to spew propaganda around here." He then shot an apologetic look at the crew's guest. "Mind giving me a second here?"

"Sure, sure, go right ahead," Shiki waved him off airily before wandering away. His grin then widened as the Straw Hat's captain came up to him with an inquisitive look. "Can I help you?"

"Well," Luffy scratched the back of his head with uncharacteristic hesitation. "I know you said that wheel messed with your head, and that you weren't really friends, but… uh… do you… remember anything about Roger at all? What he was like and stuff?"

The guest captain's mood swiftly sobered up, and he glanced away. "…he was a great man. Strong, stalwart. Truly a pirate to be admired in every way."

"So cool!" Luffy grinned ecstatically.

Shiki bowed his head as his expression slowly darkened. "…he was also a damned fool, who refused to grasp the world when he had it in the palm of his hand."

"Huh?!" the rubber-man boggled at Shiki for a second before frowning and bringing a hand to his head in thought. "Wait… why does that sound…?"

"What the—? HEY, GUYS!" Usopp suddenly shouted, snapping Luffy out of his thoughts as he garnered everyone's attention. "TH-THERE'S… THERE ARE ISLANDS UP AHEAD!"

"At almost four thousand meters in the air and without a Cumulo Regalis in sight?! You're kidding!" Nami said incredulously, joining the rest of the crew at the Sunny's sides, Perona shadowing her in her astral form, having vehemently denied any idea of getting anywhere near a several thousand meter drop in person.

But no matter how impossible it should have been, none could deny the facts: That the Straw Hat's ship was floating straight towards an archipelago of totally normal islands, bearing a variety of climates and ecosystems… save that they were floating in the sky. And not a single Cumulo Regalis around.

"Woooah…" Usopp and Chopper breathed in gape-mouthed awe.

"I don't believe my eyes!" Brook exclaimed in shock. "My non-existent eyes! YOHOHO! SKULL JOKE!"

"I'm gonna go and get a Vision Dial! Otherwise the guys back on the Fleet'll never believe this!" Raphey barked excitedly, Rip Tide-ing into the Sunny.

"What is this place?" Luffy asked, voice uncharacteristically soft and quiet.

The shadows upon Shiki's face grew deeper and darker, even as his grin grew wider. "That, my fellow pirate, would be the Hidden Land in the Clouds known as Merveille. My glorious hideout."

"Huh?!" Luffy and his crew all snapped their heads around to stare at the wheel-headed man in confusion. "But you said you were taking us to the East—!"

Shiki suddenly snapped his hand up, silencing everyone and allowing them to hear what was being said by their tactician's snail.

"The second warning," Vice Admiral Tsuru declared solemnly, "Perhaps even more critical, concerns the world as a whole. One of the most infamous pirates in history has resumed activity: Shiki the Golden Lion."

Some of the crew stiffened, but most barely reacted; they were some of the most infamous pirates in history, after all. Yet for some reason, Luffy in particular had a frown on his face. Shiki, for his part, just kept grinning and looking ahead. And as the Vice Admiral spoke, listing the other pirate's characteristics, Shiki's grin grew ever wider while Luffy's frown deepened into an out and out scowl, until finally…

"…he's standing right next to you, Jeremiah Cross, isn't he?" Tsuru groaned.

Shiki shot a vicious leer at the source of the Marine's voice. "Guilty as charged, Wrinkles~"

"YOU!" Luffy suddenly roared at the top of his lungs, his face etched into a rictus of fury as he snapped his arm way back. "GUM-GUM—WAAAAAAA!" The attack, before it could be launched, was transformed into a panicked cry when the Thousand Sunny suddenly rocketed straight into the airborne archipelago, throwing the Straw Hats clean off their feet.

Once they adjusted to the momentum, the stronger members of the crew got to their feet, looking around in an attempt to spot their apparent latest threat…

"I find myself curious, Straw Hat!"

And led everyone in glaring up at the mast upon which Shiki had perched himself, visibly basking in his own superiority with an arrogant leer on his face.

"You somehow suspected me when you had no right to!" the Golden Lion chuckled darkly. "How did that happen?"

"I remembered you from Shanks' stories!" Luffy snarled viciously, dropping into a fight-ready position. "And he said that you were the most evil, hateful bastard of a tyrant that he ever met!"

"Sticks and stones, my boy!" Shiki guffawed. "The words of none will ever hurt me! Not yours, not your third mate's, and certainly not that Red-Haired brat's either! JIHAHAHA!"

"BUT MY PIPE SURE AS HELL WILL!" the rubber-man roared, brandishing said implement—

"LUFFY, NO!"

—only to stumble when Cross hastily grabbed his captain's arm. "Cross, what—!?"

"I want to knock his block off as much as you do, but if you neutralize his powers for even a second, we're gonna hit the ocean like it was pavement!" Cross explained in a panic.

"Listen to the boy, Straw Hat!" Shiki called down, accompanied by a belly-deep laugh. "I'm not quite done with you yet, it'd be inconvenient to have to pick your remains up off the seafloor!"

"I THOUGHT I DITCHED THAT GAG IN SKYPIEA! I'M NINETEEN!"

"And look at how much I care!" Shiki boisterously replied, throwing his arms out wide. "And while I'm at it, let me humbly welcome you all to the Island of Merveille, as my honored guests! I am quite certain that you will find it to be a most wonderful home for adventurers such as yourselves… once you've settled in."

"Yoooou…" Luffy growled from the pit of his stomach.

"Oh, fret not, I won't be in your hair much longer!" Shiki waved his hand dismissively. "I'll just take what I decided to acquire while I was among you and be on my way! First off!" He shot his hand down towards the crew—

"GWAH!"